Podcast

Sunday, November 03, 2013

The Ultimate Story Checklist: Groundhog Day

Updated to the sixth and final checklist!

Phil Connors, a
frustrated weatherman desperate to ditch Pittsburgh for the big leagues, he has
to go out one more year to do a broadcast of the groundhog seeing his shadow in
the small town of Punxatawny. After he and his crew (cheery-cute producer Rita
and sarcastic cameraman Larry) get snowed in, he finds himself caught in a
bizarre phenomenon, repeating Groundhog Day over and over, hundreds of times.
He tries every possible solution until he just gives up and uses this time to
become a better person, which finally breaks the cycle (and wins the heart of
Rita).

PART
#1: CONCEPT 15/19

The Pitch: Does this concept excite everyone who
hears about it?

Is the
one sentence description uniquely appealing?

A selfish weather man is mysteriously
cursed to relive the same Groundhog Day over and over until he achieves
personal grow.

Does
the concept contain an intriguing ironic contradiction?

A man who just wants to get his least favorite
day over has to live it again and again..

Is this a story anyone can identify with, projected onto
a bigger canvas, with higher stakes?

Very much so.

Story Fundamentals: Will this concept generate a
strong story?

Is the
concept simple enough to spend more time on character than plot?

Plot and character are inextricable
here.

Is
there one character that the audience will choose to be their “hero”?

Phil.

Does
the story follow the progress of the hero’s problem, not the hero’s daily
life?

We get started
quickly, then slow down to show two whole days, then move through hundreds of
day quickly once he begins making incremental progress.

Does
the story present a unique relationship?

A weatherman and
his producer.

Is at
least one actual human being opposed to what the hero is doing?

Hmm… It depends on his goal. Yes, when
he wants a date from Rita, otherwise not really, just himself.

Does
this challenge represent the hero’s greatest hope and/or greatest fear and/or
an ironic answer to the hero’s question?

Greatest fear and
ironic answer: The first line is: “Somebody asked me today, ‘Phil, if you
could be anywhere in the world, where would you want to be?’” as his hand
hovers over an empty greenscreen.

Does
something inside the hero have a particularly volatile reaction to the
challenge?

…But it takes a
while. He does everyman reactions as long as he can, until he finally
realizes that this really is about him.

Does
this challenge become something that is the not just hard for the hero to do (an obstacle) but hard for the hero
to want to do (a conflict)?

Very much so. He
has to totally transform his entire personality.

In the
end, is the hero the only one who can solve the problem?

Yes.

Does
the hero permanently transform the situation and vice versa?

He brings his loop
to an end and makes the whole town
happy.He is personally totally
transformed

The
Hook: Will this be marketable and generate word of mouth?

Does
the story satisfy the basic human urges that get people to buy and recommend
this genre?

Somewhat: Guys might feel it’s not
quite raunchy enough for comedy or
sci-fi enough for sci-fi, but seems too male-centric for girls at first
glance. Of course, everybody loves it once they actually see it, but it’s a
hard sell beforehand, and it had to build its own audience through
word-of-mouth.

Does
this story show us at least one image we haven’t seen before (that can be
used to promote the final product)?

Somewhat with the groundhog, although
it’s hard to visualize the predicament itself. The alarm clock to a certain
extent. From looking at various awkward DVD covers, it’s clear that they
never really found a compelling image to summarize the concept.

Is
there at least one “Holy Crap!” scene (to create word of mouth)?

Punching Ned,
killing the groundhog, the suicides, the ice sculptures.

Does
the story contain a surprise that is not obvious from the beginning?

Sort of: it turns out that it’s not
really about getting the girl.

Is the
story marketable without revealing the surprise?

Sure.

Is the
conflict compelling and ironic both before and after the surprise?

Sure.

PART
#2: CHARACTER 17/22

Believe:
Do we recognize the hero as a human being?

Does
the hero have a moment of humanity early on? (A funny, or kind, or oddball,
or out-of-character, or comically vain, or unique-but-universal “I thought I
was the only one who did that!” moment?)

He’s a funny,
friendly broadcaster onscreen, then he calls his co-worker “hairdo”
off-screen, and we like both sides of him, at first.

Is the
hero defined by ongoing actions and attitudes, not by backstory?

Entirely. We get
no backstory whatsoever.

Does
the hero have a well-defined public identity?

The funny
weatherman.

Does
the surface characterization ironically contrast with a hidden interior self?

He’s bitterly
depressed.

Does
the hero have a consistent metaphor family (drawn from his or her job,
background, or developmental state)?

Sort of meteorology: “Chance of
departure today, 100 percent.” For the most part, he adopts phony personae,
so he doesn’t have a real one.

Does
the hero have a default personality trait?

Even after he
becomes saintly, he’s still mildly sarcastic about it. He has the piano
teacher kick the girl out so he can learn, he gets exasperated with the boy
he saves for never thanking him.

Does
the hero have a default argument tactic?

Sort of: petulant complaining. He’s
never very good at getting others to do things.

Is the
hero’s primary motivation for tackling this challenge strong, simple, and
revealed early on?

He desperately
wants to get out of the loop, since he’s in his least favorite place on his
least favorite day.

Care:
Do we feel for the hero?

Does
the hero start out with a shortsighted or wrongheaded philosophy (or accept a
false piece of advice early on)?

Dozens: About
Rita: “She’s fun, but not my kind of fun.” “People are morons.” Etc.

Does
the hero have a false or shortsighted goal in the first half?

Get in and out of
town quickly, get a big network job.

Does
the hero have an open fear or anxiety about his or her future, as well as a
hidden, private fear?

Open: That he’ll
never get a better job. Private: That he’s a terrible person.

Is the
hero physically and emotionally vulnerable?

Even though he
becomes functionally immortal for a while, he always feels physical and
emotional pain.

Does
the hero have at least one untenable great flaw we empathize with? (but…)

Bitterness,
passivity, bad predictions of future

Invest:
Can we trust the hero to tackle this challenge?

…Is that great flaw (ironically) the natural
flip-side of a great strength we admire?

Sarcasm, wit,
entertaining onscreen presense.

Is the
hero curious?

He investigates
right away.

Is the
hero generally resourceful?

He comes up with a
lot of clever solutions to his problems.

Does
the hero have rules he or she lives by (either stated or implied)?

Sort of: Be funny, tolerate no
sentiment, I deserve a bigger spotlight

Is the
hero surrounded by people who sorely lack his or her most valuable quality?

His co-worker and
the townspeople all seem especially dippy, which makes us side with him at
first.

…And
is the hero willing to let them know that, subtly or directly?

Constantly.

Is the
hero already doing something active when we first meet him or her?

Somewhat. He’s on his
feet doing the weather report.

Does
the hero have (or claim) decision-making authority?

Yes and no. With Rita, he thinks he
can ride roughshod over her, but she’s actually handling him, and once he’s
repeating the day, he can do anything, but only within big limits.
Ultimately, this a movie about accepting powerlessness.

Does
the hero use pre-established special skills from his or her past to solve
problems (rather than doing what anybody would do)?

No, he pretty much does what anybody
would do.

PART
#3: STRUCTURE (If the story is about the solving of a large problem) 20/21

1st
Quarter: Is the challenge laid out in the first quarter?

When
the story begins, is the hero becoming increasingly irritated about his or
her longstanding social problem (while still in denial about an internal
flaw)?

He wants to escape
to a network job, doesn’t know why he gets so little respect.

Does
this problem become undeniable due to a social humiliation at the beginning
of the story?

He’s send to the
town for a fourth year in a row.

Does
the hero discover an intimidating opportunity to fix the problem?

He ends up stuck
in a loop, though he doesn’t see it as an opportunity for a long time.

Does
the hero hesitate until the stakes are raised?

He refuses to
believe it until it repeats twice.

Does the hero commit to pursuing the opportunity by the
end of the first quarter?

After two
repetitions, he decides that this could be fun.

2nd
Quarter: Does the hero try the easy way in the second quarter?

Does
the hero’s pursuit of the opportunity quickly lead to an unforeseen conflict
with another person?

The police, then
Rita.

Does
the hero try the easy way throughout the second quarter?

Yes, he tries to
use this power for his advantage.

Does
the hero have a little fun and get excited about the possibility of success?

He gets in car
chases, steals money, seduces his boss. He thinks he’s about to close the
deal with her.

Does the
easy way lead to a big crash around the midpoint, resulting in the loss of a
safe space and/or sheltering relationship?

She slaps him on
eight consecutive days. He gives up and goes back to hating her, the town,
and himself.

3rd
Quarter: Does the hero try the hard way in the third quarter?

Does
the hero try the hard way from this point on?

First suicide,
then honesty with Rita.

Does
the hero find out who his or her real friends and real enemies are?

He realizes that
he really loves Rita, and the town.

Do the
stakes, pace, and motivation all escalate at this point?

He realizes that
he only has one day (over and over) to save the old man’s life.

Does
the hero learn from mistakes in a painful way?

Very much so.

Does a
further setback lead to a spiritual crisis?

He realizes that
he’s a terrible person, and if he’s a god, he’s got to be a good god.

4th
Quarter: Does the challenge climax in the fourth quarter?

Does
the hero adopt a corrected philosophy after the spiritual crisis?

Eventually: “No matter what
happens tomorrow, or for the rest of my life, I’m happy now”

After
that crisis, does the hero finally commit to pursuing a corrected goal, which
still seems far away?

He’s got to change as many
lives as possible in one day. It’s a big job.

Before
the final quarter of the story begins, (if not long before) has your hero
switched to being proactive, instead of reactive?

Yes.

Despite
these proactive steps, is the timeline unexpectedly moved up, forcing the
hero to improvise for the finale?

No, not at all. There is no ticking
clock whatsoever. He literally has all eternity to get better, and won’t get
better until he stops worrying about tomorrow entirely.

Do all
strands of the story and most of the characters come together for the
climactic confrontation?

He literally
brings the whole town together.

Does
the hero’s inner struggle climax shortly after (or possible at the same time
as) his or her outer struggle?

The same time.

Is
there an epilogue/ aftermath/ denouement in which the challenge is finally resolved
(or succumbed to), and we see how much the hero has changed (possibly through
reversible behavior)

Succumbed to
happily: he says “Let’s live here.”

PART
#4: SCENEWORK 14/20

The
Set-Up: Does this scene begin with the essential elements it needs?

Were
tense and/or hopeful (and usually false) expectations for this interaction
established beforehand?

Not really. We jump right into it from
the death sequence.

Does
the scene eliminate small talk and repeated beats by cutting out the
beginning (or possibly even the middle)?

We cut straight to
his reveal, after she’s been wondering and he’s been making small talk for a
while.

Is
this an intimidating setting that keeps characters active?

Not intimidating, but yes, it keeps characters
active.

Is one
of the scene partners not planning to have this conversation (and quite
possibly has something better to do)?

She wants to get
going.

Is
there at least one non-plot element complicating the scene?

The lives of the
customers, the dishes dropping, etc.

Does
the scene establish its own mini-ticking-clock (if only through subconscious anticipation)?

He counts down to
plates dropping, knows that he has to convince her before Larry comes in and
takes her away.

The
Conflict: Do the conflicts play out in a lively manner?

Does this scene both advance the plot and reveal
character through emotional reactions?

Both.

Does
the audience have (or develop) a rooting interest in this scene (which may
sometimes shift)?

We’re rooting for
him to convince her, as opposed to the previous sequence where we were
rooting for her to resist him.

Are
two agendas genuinely clashing (rather than merely two personalities)?

He wants to
convince her he’s a god, she determined to reject that.

Does
the scene have both a surface conflict and a suppressed conflict (one of which
is the primary conflict in this scene)?

Not really. He no longer has a
secondary agenda, nor does she.

Is the
suppressed conflict (which may or may not come to the surface) implied through
subtext (and/or called out by the other character)?

NA

Are
the characters cagy (or in denial) about their own feelings?

Not really. They’re pretty up front.

Do
characters use verbal tricks and traps to get what they want, not just direct
confrontation?

He traps her into
saying things that will be disproved by his predictions. He predicts
explainable things to lull her, so that it will be more shocking when he
predicts unexplainable things. She tries to get him with logic traps.

Is
there re-blocking, including literal push and pull between the scene partners
(often resulting in just one touch)?

He drags her
around the café.

Are
objects given or taken, representing larger values?

He gives her a
slip of paper that proves his point. It wouldn’t have felt undeniable to her
if he had just said it, but now this is real proof in her hands.

The
Outcome: Does this scene change the story going forward?

As a
result of this scene, does at least one of the scene partners end up doing
something that he or she didn’t intend to do when the scene began?

She’s convinced
that he has supernatural powers, agrees to go with him.

Does
the outcome of the scene ironically reverse (and/or ironically fulfill) the
original intention?

No, it’s pretty unironic. He does
exactly what he sets out to do.

Are
previously-asked questions answered and new questions posed?

Previous question: Why doesn’t he tell anybody? New questions: Why is he telling
her? Will this win her over?

Does
the scene cut out early, on a question (possibly to be answered instantly by
the circumstances of the next scene)?

Will she go with
him? We don’t find out until the cut.

Is the
audience left with a growing hope and/or fear for what might happen next?
(Not just in the next scene, but generally)

We’re happy that he now has a
confidant and hopeful that she is about to help him figure his way out this.

PART
#5: DIALOGUE 14/16

Empathetic:
Is the dialogue true to human nature?

Does
the writing demonstrate empathy for all of the characters?

The townspeople
are caricatures at first, but as he gains empathy for them so do we.

Does
each of the characters, including the hero, have a limited perspective?

Less so with Rita,
but yes, even her.

Do the
characters consciously and unconsciously prioritize their own wants, rather
than the wants of others?

All except Rita, who is fairly selfless,
but at least everybody notices how weird that is, so we believe it.

Are
the characters resistant to openly admitting their feelings (to others and
even to themselves)?

Very much so.

Do the
characters avoid saying things they wouldn’t say and doing things they
wouldn’t do?

She’s reluctant to
give up personal detail until he weasels them out of her.

Do the
characters interrupt each other often?

Somewhat, some
characters do, but Rita’s a great listener. Phil’s not bad either, actually.

Specific: Is the dialogue specific to this world
and each personality?

Does
the dialogue capture the jargon and tradecraft of the profession and/or
setting?

Yes, of
weathermen.

Are
there additional characters with distinct metaphor families, default
personality traits, and default argument strategies from the hero’s?

Does
the ending satisfy most of the expectations of the genre, and defy a few
others?

He gets the girl
and finds happiness, but only through not wanting to have sex with her that night.

Separate
from the genre, is a consistent mood (goofy, grim, ‘fairy tale’, etc.)
established early and maintained throughout?

Eventually, but it has a tone disaster
early on with a terrible upbeat-blues opening song that almost wrecks the
whole movie. Later, we get appropriate music (Ray Charles and Nat King Cole,
who are more timeless, emotional and contemplative)

Framing:
Does the story set, reset, upset and ultimately exceed its own expectations?

Is
there a dramatic question posed early on, which will establish in the
audience’s mind which moment will mark the end of the story?

The first shot
after that: His hand against a green screen: “Somebody asked me today, ‘Phil,
if you could be anywhere in the world, where would you want to be?’”

Does the story use framing devices to establish
genre, mood and expectations?

No. It’s actually pretty amazing that
this movie doesn’t use voiceover. It’s a credit to Murray’s performance that
he can convey what’s going just with his face.

Are
there characters whose situations prefigure various fates that might await
the hero?

Phil keeps running
into people he could be: Nice Rita, dopey Larry covering the swallows at
Capistrano eight years in a row, the drunks at the bar, etc.